Japanese SME park opens first phase in Chon Buri
Amata Corporation Plc has partnered with the Industrial Development Association of Ota in Japan to open the Ota Techno Park (OTP) in the Amata Industry Estate in Chon Buri province.
This project is being supervised by Amata Summit Ready Built Co Ltd as a way to nurture potential Japanese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Thailand. Amata Corp CEO Vikrom Kromadit said the OTP was a pilot project aimed at establishing a strong connection in terms of business and advancements between Thailand and Japan. And Amata Corp director Viboon Kromadit said the first phase of the project was worth Bt65 million and expected to reach the break-even point within five years. The company plans to spend Bt170 million on additional phases; the first phase has eight units, all of which have been reserved. Viboon said Amata's revenues from the first phase of the OTP is Bt760,000 a month, which comes from the rental fee of Bt200 per square metre per month and service fee of Bt100 per square metre per month. He added that the OTP would help Ota's SMEs expand more easily, because Amata had rented them industrial space and offered a range of services, including company registration, Board of Investment (BoI) application, tax registration, land-use applications, financial services, tax and legal-compliance services and accounting services. Ota City Industrial Promotion Organisation executive director Nobuaki Yamada said the OTP was a good way for the enterprises in Ota to expand their production bases in Thailand. Firms that locate in the OTP will also receive such BoI incentives as reduced taxes. Nobuaki said it was best for SMEs to expand as part of a cluster, because they could help each other in areas like technology and have better bargaining power than if they expanded on their own. Nobuaki said Ota was in negotiations to set up a similar venture in China, in order to take advantage of that country's massive market and low wages. The first enterprise that moved into the OTP is Nambu Cyl (Thailand) Co Ltd, a cylinder-manufacturer and distributor with the largest market share in Japan. Other enterprises in the park are Nishii Engineering Co Ltd, an optical-parts manufacturer, and Ezaki Industrial Co Ltd, a manufacturer of pipes for the automotive industry, both of which are preparing to start production at the end of this year. Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul The Nation
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